


in the now and beyond

by ashley_in_the_know



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Adoption, Family, Found Family, Gen, post campaign one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 06:24:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15701652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashley_in_the_know/pseuds/ashley_in_the_know
Summary: Keyleth does not necessarily mean to adopt a child. It just kind of happens.Okay, that sounds bad.





	in the now and beyond

Keyleth...does not necessarily  _mean_ to adopt a child. It just kind of happens.

Okay, that sounds bad.

What she means by that, is that she doesn’t go to an orphanage in Westruun with the intention of adopting. But it happens anyway. Because that’s just how her life works, apparently.

It starts with her taking some time to visit Pike, Scanlan, and Grog. Her father’s been insisting that she needs a vacation, and, as much as she loves Whitestone, Vex and Percy are kind of preoccupied with Vex’s third pregnancy. (It’s twins. Which has apparently made Vex an emotional wreck. And Keyleth still cries way more than she cares to admit. So, yeah. Westruun it is.)

Pike casually mentions it at breakfast one morning. There’s an orphanage in town that’s never quite recovered from Umbrasyl’s attack. The building is in disrepair, they’re seriously understaffed, and they don’t have the funds to rectify either. She feels that Sarenrae’s been guiding her to help.

“I don’t know,” she says with a shrug. “I just feel like we could do a lot of good over there, you know?”

And since none of them have ever been able to refuse Pike anything, they spend pretty much all of Keyleth’s vacation at the orphanage. Pike and Grog do a majority of the manual labor, so once she’s done what she can for the garden, there’s not much for Keyleth to do.

So, she and Scanlan spend the better part of three weeks hanging out with the kids. Well, Scanlan hangs out with the kids. Keyleth hangs around awkwardly for a couple of days until one of the workers not-so-subtly suggests that she could help with the infants and young toddlers.

It works for Keyleth, honestly. She’s never been the best with kids. No, that was always Pike and Vex and...and Vax. Babies she can handle, though. Babies don’t talk. They don’t make comments or ask questions that leave her feeling uncertain and awkward.

She gets a lot of warnings from Pike and Scanlan about getting too attached, and she doesn’t really get it at first. Not until she enters the nursery one morning and makes a beeline for one crib in particular.

His name is Harlow. He’s a half-orc, about eight months old (they think. He was left on their doorstop anonymously about six months ago), and he’s absolutely the sweetest little boy Keyleth has ever met (sorry Freddie). Best of all, he  _adores_ Keyleth. His chubby little face lights up and he starts babbling excitedly whenever he spots her. By the end of her time there, her heart is breaking thinking about leaving him behind.

He seems to sense that she’s  _leaving_ because he clings to her more than usual. “I’ll be back, sweetie, I promise,” she tells him, kissing him on the cheek. She Druidcrafts a flower for him, a daffodil. “I’ll be back.”

* * *

 

She makes Pike send her regular updates over the next two months. She actually cries when she reads that he took his first steps. She tells her father  _everything_ , and Korrin just smiles with tears in his eyes. “You really love him, don’t you?”

Keyleth nods. “Yeah, Dad, I think I do.”

When she finally returns, Vex tags along. (She’s doing better, according to Percy. With spring had come her second trimester, and her hormones had mellowed.) Keyleth is glad to have her there. She’s a calming presence, and Keyleth takes her hand as they approach the orphanage. Vex gives her a reassuring squeeze and leads the way through the door.

They’re barely into the foyer before they hear the patter of little feet, and Harlow is racing into Keyleth’s arms. She scoops him up and twirls him around, making him giggle. “Hi, Harlow,” she says, a little breathless. “I missed you so much.”

She can feel Vex’s eyes on them all day, but she doesn’t say anything until they’re back at Pike and Scanlan’s. “You’re gonna be such a good mom, Kiki,” she says, hugging her tight, tears soaking Keyleth’s collarbone.

Keyleth tells the head matron the next morning that she wants to adopt Harlow.

* * *

 

Korrin comes with her a month later when she finally -  _finally -_ gets to bring Harlow home to Zephrah. They bond instantly, and Keyleth couldn’t be happier. (Well, okay, that’s a lie. Having Vax here would make this literally perfect. But this still feels pretty damn amazing. And she knows Vax approves, wherever he is.)

Harlow buries his face in her neck and whimpers as they pass through the tree portal into Zephrah. She rubs his back soothingly. “It’s okay, sweetie. You’re okay. Mama’s got you.”

When he finally peeks up, his eyes go wide, taking in his new surroundings. Her son (and holy shit, she has a son) looks up at her wonderingly, babbles softly.

“Welcome to Zephrah, Harlow,” she whispers, kissing him. “Welcome home.”

He stares down at his hands, concentrating intently until a tiny flower blossoms in his palm. A snowdrop. He offers it to her with a smile, and the first word she’s heard him say.

“Home.”


End file.
